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So what’s new with the Chiltern? I bought some luggage-carrying capacity in the form of a Steco front rack from Het Zwarte Fietsenplan in Amsterdam – thanks Bart! – and finally fitted some new rubber (a pair of gum wall Schwalbe Delta Cruisers). I added a new, longer gear cable using the original outer skin and refitted the chain guard after re-painting it (badly) and then proceeded to scrape it all off again on this run through the forest…
I’ve changed the handlebars since this photo for a set of lovely swept-back raised bars I found on a scrapped ladies Emmelle and I’m currently awaiting delivery of a longer stem which should help with positioning the front rack.
I’ve also been toying with the idea of backdating the relatively plain crank to one of the older Raleigh style with the heron’s head. It was only while examining the examples I had on hand that I noticed that the later version is not only less well detailed – an eyeless heron and no additional bracing in the voids – but is also facing the other direction!
Sadly, the older version was intended for operation in an oil-bath chain case and they’ve skimped on the chrome plating. I don’t think it could stand up to the Scottish weather without it…a pity!
I’ve also begun to think about illumination…before long it’ll start getting dark just after lunch! This’ll be initially dynamo-powered with supercapacitor standing backup and (hopefully) ultimately a home-brew setup running from dynamo-recharged lithium-polymer batteries.
Like my mudguard badges? :c)
R:B
OK, enough of the teasing. Here are my two new ladies….
1938/9? "The Sun" by the Sun Cycle and Fittings Co., Birmingham
The Sun is a lovely machine in astonishingly good condition. The paintwork has obviously seen better days but there is no real rust and, although the chrome is sadly pitted and flaking in places, she is solid throughout. The tyres actually held air and it only needed the cones in her front axle tightened before she could be ridden around the block. Fortunately I spotted that there were a few very loose spokes before getting carried away and doing any lasting damage.
The Sun was originally to have been for my equally lovely and arty daughter who currently has a full-suspension Raleigh mountain job. However, she had her heart set on a hot pink repaint…so I’ve promised I’ll look out for a nice loop frame in need of new paint instead, preferably one that’ll take 700c rims. But I digress..
The pedals are by Brampton and the single-speed freewheel by Villiers, both reputable names in British cycle manufacturing. I’ve tried to be objective in dating this bicycle and so far can only deduce from the components – such as the snub-nosed Brooks B2 Lady’s Model, which I can only find listed in their 1939 catalogue – combined with the lack of a reflector and the homemade distemper/whitewash patch on the rear mudguard that The Sun probably predates WWII. I’ll follow up with some more photographs as I strip and rebuild her…
And then we have her friend…
1947 Rudge 3-speed Super Safety (Model 111L)
This Rudge – so I’ve been reliably informed – was originally bought by relatively local village blacksmith for his daughter and, as you might expect, was fairly well looked after. It still sports a period pump/inflator and a pair of vintage Dunlop Roadster tyres in spankingly good condition. Being 1947, this is a Nottingham Raleigh-built Rudge so it lacks the ingenious chain-driven brake system of the pre-war Super Safety but it is otherwise well-appointed and should clean up nicely. I only get to enjoy lavishing attention on her until I have her roadworthy…then she falls under the protection of my darling wife!
R:B
BEFORE
I’ve been intending to post some photographs of the £10 Chiltern for a while now and have finally decided not to wait until I refit the chainguard…
AFTER (almost!)
Since this bicycle is intended for daily riding around town, I’ve not invested too much time or money into it. Most of the components are reclaimed or recycled. The mudguards, rear rack and wheel reflectors (I managed to resist using the Unholy Spoke Reflectors) came from my project box. The brake calipers, front wheel and both tyres and tubes are reclaimed from the Traveller. I’ll be replacing the (ahem) 30-year-old Raleigh Record tyres with a pair of Schwalbe puncture-proof white-walls soon… The Zefal pump is new – with an adapter to suit the Woods valves – and cost a measly £3.49.
The dental white grips are actually a Shimano 333 3-speed shifter set I picked up as NOS on Ebuy for less than the price of a new cable. Unfortunately I still need a new cable as the Shimano part is a bit short for this frame. However, they shift nicely and adapting the Shimano 333 cable to fit the Sturmey Archer hub only involved snipping off the cable nipple and clamping on a late model SA adjusting barrel.
The saddle – previously on the Superbe – is actually a little low for comfort but I’ve been too lazy to adjust it yet. I’ve got two vintage leather saddles to choose from and haven’t yet decided which suits the bicycle best. The rear luggage is an ancient reclaimed Carradice Club bag. I need to get some white polish on the leather straps…
Total cost? Excluding paint and other workshop consumables? Probably around £30…
OK…£30 and a pair of jeans that I spilled paraffin over. Anyone really know how to get the smell of paraffin out of clothing? They’ve been machine-washed twice and left hanging out on the drying line for a week through two torrential downpours! They still stink…
R:B
OK…it started out as a mission to offload some old kid-sized bikes that had been taking up space in the shed for tooooo long. We dropped them off at the local bicycle recycling project - more about this soon – and I couldn’t resist having a snoop around their store room. Then I saw it…a neglected but still quite tidy 1992 Raleigh Chiltern 3-Speed Roadster in anarcho-black.
This is the condition in which I acquired her. What it is with me and rust-encrusted half-carts! The rims are badly rusted and the chrome is flaking in places. Hell, there’s rust on the tyres…! Then again, I only paid £10 to liberate her.
The front mudguard is quite obviously corroded and the rear one is simply elsewhere. Both front and rear brake calipers are badly corroded and the chrome is beyond recovery. I’m planning to replace them with a pair of alloy centre-pull Dia-Compe calipers from my project box.
The chain guard appeared fine until I started checking the edges – the paint is ready to peel off in sheets! I’ll have to dream up some remedial treatment. And where’s the heron gone? This is an utterly boring crankset!
And I’m less than impressed with the handlebar furniture. The brake levers are Weinmann knock-offs by LeeChi and what a hideous plastic gear trigger! I knew I should’ve bid on those Shimano 333 twist-grips on eBuy!
Aaaaargh! This has to be the saddest part…this bicycle is still wearing some of the factory packaging on the wheelnuts. This suggests it was left outside and hardly used or cared for from new! What a tragedy!
Anyway, the plan is for this beauty to become my daily ride. I’ll not worry about restoring her to her 1992 state – which by the looks of it would have been pretty average – but aim for comfort and style. Maybe even some mock stateliness too! Suggestions for names are welcome. I’m currently favouring Ethel.
rb
Well, here it is. I’ve already stripped much of it down to see what needs repaired or replaced. The answer seems to be surprisingly little…
The mudguards are a bit fragile. I think I might Kurust them and perhaps also reinforce them internally with glassfibre. The tyres are perished and torn and the rear wheel has a broken spoke and a split along the edge of the rim. New rims will be about £25 a pair I reckon. I managed to shear the heads off two bolts during disassembly but thankfully these were unimportant, replaceable, lower rear mudguard mounts. The frame itself doesn’t seem soft and gives a nice clear ring when knocked with a spanner. (Good tip, Pops!)
The first things to go were the lights, bottle dynamo and rear rack, all of which are late additions. The dynamo and lights are about to find a new home on my SO’s new ‘79 Raleigh Transit.
As far as I can tell, this is a Raleigh Superbe and the frame number – a “P” number stamped at the top of the seat tube - suggests it was built in 1949 or 1950, at least according to the online sources here and here. The rear hub is a Sturmey Archer DynoFour -the date code appears to be “5T” which suggests (to me, at least) 1950. If anyone knows better, please leave a comment and let me know…
More later…
rb
Finally tracked down a roadster! However, not being one to do things the easy way when there’s a hard way, the one pictured the other day is a dream in green compared to the contraption I’m about to tackle.
My roadster looks like green household gloss paint has been applied by a glue-sniffing halfwit who could only find a 6″ distemper brush! Actually, “applied” is the wrong word as it implies some degree of deliberation. “Randomly distributed” would be equally generous. The cycle’s only saving grace is that it seems intact and what I could see of the chrome looked fairly sound. I’m hoping the original artist wouldn’t have thought to use any primer. The plan is to transform this Hulk into a Green Lady.
I think its a Raleigh Superbe; can’t say for sure yet how old it is…but it looks to have the original rear Dynohub so I think I might be able to date it. It shows all the other signs; stirrup brakes, fork lock, fully enclosed chain…
Should be picking it up on Monday along with a somewhat younger and currently more attractive, brown Raleigh Transit for my better half. Persuading her that the green eyesore is worth paying the same money for is another story…
I was admiring Thom’s Columbia Sports III over at {Old Bike Blog} and was very impressed by the result he achieved using stencils to recreate the original frame art. The Hulk’s frame decals will no doubt be lost in the process of stripping the but I’m thinking of creating something sympathetic rather than authentic and may use water slip transfers under clear lacquer. We’ll see…
rb
